Do you own a bird that plucks or was once a plucker? Can you pinpoint anything, such as age, change in environment, illness, new cage or other event that coincided with the initial plucking?

I have an Eclectus that I rescued. She was plucked naked. Her blood tests came out fine, except for an elevated cholestrol level. She does not mutilate; she just seems to prefer to be naked. Since I got her that way, I do not know what caused her to pluck. I also rehomed a grey. She was plucked when I got her but I was able to grow her feathers in. I learned that she cannot see the color red. If she does, she will pluck her entire chest inside of a day.

Poor little pluckers

How does that work with your grey and her little red but??

I'm glad Schroeder can handle the color red, because I love it and my home is decorated in red (couch, bedsheets, pictures, flowers, etc) I hope he doesnt grow into a phobia of it

No plucking, but we have incidences of picking and barbering.

My GW hen started to pick at her legs. We decided to check for metal and zinc and found that her zinc level was very high and she was treated for zinc toxicity.

My GW male will barber his back feathers at the onset of his breeding hormonal cycle.

Meko (CAG) started plucking when an evil woman took her from her daddy in a divorce settlement. Meko was totally the man's bird's and the woman was just being hateful. She had a zon as well and you could tell by the looks of the cages and playstands that Meko was neglected. The night we went to see her when we left my 15 yr. old son was crying. http://www.aviantreasuresonline.com/mekostory.htm

Sampson (Ekkie) plucked her chest and it was totally a nutritional problem fixed the food and we fixed the problem. Her feathers grew in a different color.
http://www.aviantreasuresonline.com/sampson.htm
As for Charlie, it is a nervous problem, we were told there wasn't any changes she just started to chew on herself. We had her better, but you all know the story. We are trying very hard to get her back and so far she seems ok, without Syd here she has calmed down considerably.
http://www.aviantreasuresonline.com/charlie.htm

Wendy, what diet do you now feed your ekkie?

Molly, my ekkie plucks her chest, enough that you see a lot of down. This is why I ask about the diet of your ekkie. I was told Molly's plucking may be hormonal, so I'm keeping an eye on her.

Plucker/mutilator/overpreener/barbs feathers- thats Rosie!

Right now she is onthe rebound and has a chestfull of feathers for the first time in over 3 years- now we just have to keep them there.

Emily - have you done anything different to grow back Rosie's feathers? Anything you can share with us?

Lara - I think you meant to address this to me. My Ekkies get fresh and cooked foods daily - and a lot of them - fruits, veggies, rice, beans, pasta hot peppers, lentils, etc. That is their morning meal, which is when they seem to eat the most (the little garbage pails that they are!) After I go to work, they are left with a pellet blend (the Ultimate Blend) which is non-colored pellets along with dried fruits, veggies, nuts and herbs.

Prior to joining my family, my plucked Ekkie was on a diet of sunflower seeds, hot dogs and popcorn. She was already plucked and had this horrible plexiglas collar around her neck (which as immediately removed -I had to use a screwdriver!). Her cholestrol levels were very high. My vet feels she is hormonal. She's around 16 now. The only time she grows any down is when she is sitting on an egg.

Interaction with another caique- Higgins, has really helped. They preen each other daily- then instantly get on each others nerves and start to fight, LOL and its time for me to play 'referee'.

I changed her diet from Roudybush maintence to Roudybush rice- its hypoallergenic, in an effort to decrease her seemingly constant itchiness. I have a humidifer going in the house constantly that puts the humidity at around 50%. She gets diluted chamomile water as a drinking source to help calm her little neurotic self down. About 2 tablepsoons chamomile to half cup water. Lots of preening toys- her favorite are rope and peacock feathers. Increased foraging activity- she constantly has foraging items in her cage so that she must work for her food.
Also warms bathes, and when molting she gets spritzed with diluted aloe juice/warm water mixture to help with the itchy skin. I pay attention to her diet as well- no hemp seed (increases hormones), cut back on cooked foods during spring months, like now, and foods high in estrogen like yams. Bump up the nuts so she gets essential fatty acids.

Lara, Sampson was one of the bird we adopted out when we moved from Florida to NJ and I just re-homed him, where he is doing great. I send them Harrison's Bird food. He also loves this concoction I make with brown rice veggies beans and tons of other things including flax seed, they make it for him. He has also turned into a great fresh food eater. He LOVES corn, any kind, he even likes to play with the dried corn.